Obanikoro, NEMA gift relief items to victims of disasters in Eti-Osa

Rep. Babajide Obanikoro (APC-Eti-Ota) in the House of Representatives in collaboration with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Saturday distributed relief items to victims of disasters in seven communities in Eti-Osa.
Obanikoro, flagging off the distribution of building materials and food items to victims of ocean surge and other disaster at Giwa Barrack in Ikoyi, said that the gesture was part of his services to humanity.
According to him, building materials are to help victims of disasters cushion the rehabilitation of their homes.
Obanikoro said: “I am out for actual service as opposed to lip service. Sometime in 2019 and 2020, some of our people were distressed with accommodation due to ocean surge.
“I took it upon myself and ran to NEMA for relief to alleviate their distress. The efforts are what we are distributing here to some of the victims of ocean surge and physical evictions that took place in some communities.
“I am happy about this and I am glad about it. I want my people to be happy. About 300 people across seven different communities are being attended to,” he said.
According to him, the gesture will go round all victims, hence those who are not captured now are not forgotten but will be attended to later.
Speaking, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye, Coordinator, NEMA Lagos Territorial Office, said that the special intervention came when Obanikoro made presentations to NEMA headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, the gesture came after the Lagos territorial office carried out on the spot assessment and found out the predicaments people were facing as a result of ocean surge and other related disasters.
“This intervention is to provide succour to people who have been distressed through various disasters in Eti-Osa Local Government Area.
“We are to attend to distressed persons. Part of the items we are giving out are rice, maize, beans, vegetable oil, roofing sheets, cement among others.
“We are giving them directly to victims,” he said.
Farinloye urged the state, local government and individuals to take precautionary measures and disaster risk reductin, to avoid reactionary action.
He urged the people to avail themselves of information about disasters risk reduction and adhere to the information.
Speaking to NAN, Prince Sheriff Elegushi, the Ocean Surge Communities in Eti-Osa, described the gesture as first in the history of disasters in the area.
Elugushi said: “We have never felt this kind of impact. We expect more especially in putting sustainable groynes on the oceans to prevent disasters.”
Alhaja Marian Hammed-Olusesi, former Chairperson, Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Eti-Osa LGA, who applauded the lawmaker, said that many residents of riverine communities in the council had suffered and lost a lot of things due to disasters.
Mr Babatunde Bello, who spoke on behalf of the Okun Alfa communities, who noted that the relief items would alleviate the predicament of the people, called for more.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that each of the 300 beneficiaries got a bundle of roofing sheet and ceilings, a bag of nails, a 25kg bag of rice and beans as well as kegs of palm oil and vegetable oil.